Harry Potter And The American Stranger
by xXxCeLeBrItYxXx
Summary: A new girl comes to Hogwarts from America...


Harry and The American Stranger  
  
Chapter 1: The News  
  
In a small bedroom painted light purple and littered with clothes, books, and paper, a girl sat at her desk writing in a baby blue diary. She was very excited about something and was scribbling fast across the paper.  
  
8/21 Dear Diary, I can't believe this - this is so...crazy! I've been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.... In England! Holy shit! Hogwarts is one of the best wizarding school in the world! My mom says that I should definitely take this opportunity to go to Hogwarts...she says that it's a lot better than Guastinburg. I'm going to Hogwarts!  
  
Being too excited to write much more, sixteen-year-old Jessica Oakler closed her diary and went to return it to its hiding place.  
  
She got up and stood before herself in the mirror. Jessica had shoulder- length brown hair. She had deep sparkling brown eyes that always seemed to show exactly what she was feeling. Even as hard as she tried to conceal her emotions, she always failed keeping them out of her eyes. She was very short (only about 5') and had coffee-colored skin, thanks to all the sun she got in California, where she lived.  
  
She stared at herself in the mirror, thinking. She thought about what her new school would be like...what her new teachers and friends would be like....  
  
She changed into her pajamas, turned off her light, and closed her door.  
  
Even after she had crawled into bed, got under her purple sheets, and laid her head against the pillow, she was starting to worry about her first day at Hogwarts more and more. Yet, something deep inside of her told her that this would be the beginning of a wonderful new life.  
  
One week later, Jessica said tearful and emotional good-byes to her mom, her three bothers, her favorite aunt and uncle, and their two kids - her favorite cousins. They were all at the airport to see Jessica off on the plane that would take her to London, England, where she would be starting a whole new life.  
  
A few minutes later Jessica found her seat and looked out the window, tears streaming down her now very red face.  
  
She rested her head back onto her seat and thought, tears still silently rolling down her cheeks, I can't believe this is happening...I'm leaving, I'm leaving everyone I love. This was too much for Jessica as thoughts of her ex-boyfriend, Matt, came flooding back to her. She buried her face in her hands.  
  
After sitting for a while, her tears dried and her face had gone to almost its normal color.  
  
Soon she found herself wondering about Hogwarts and what she was going to do once she got off the plane.  
  
What had the letter said? she asked herself as she pulled the now very wrinkled and faded letter from the back pocket of her blue bell-bottom jeans.  
  
As this will be your first year attending Hogwarts, we ask that you arrive in London early on August 29th. Professor Hagrid, gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor at Hogwarts will escort you from your place of arrival to the Leaky Cauldron. You will be staying there until the school term starts on September 1st. On the 30th, Hagrid will go with you to help you buy your school things in Diagon Alley. You can do what you please until the morning of September 1st, when Hagrid will take you to King's Cross, and then to Platform 9¾. You will then board the Hogwart's Express and when you arrive at the castle, you will immediately be Sorted and join your House for the Welcome Feast. She read this part of the letter for the twentieth time. I wonder who this Hagrid guy is she thought.  
  
She continued to ponder what her new life at Hogwarts would be like until she looked at her watch and saw that it was already 10:30 P.M., she hadn't even noticed that the captain had turned off the lights on the plane. Damn, if its 10:30 now, what time is it in London? She tried to do the math, but soon after, she drifted quietly off to sleep.  
  
***  
  
Chapter 2: Hagrid  
  
The next morning she woke up and realized that the plane had already landed and was completely stopped.  
  
"The plane's landed, sweetie," said a flight attendant passing by.  
  
Jessica hated when people called her sweetie, cutie, or anything childish like that; she was 16, even though she didn't look it. "Thank you ma'am," she said through slightly clenched teeth.  
  
She reached groggily around for her backpack underneath her seat and made her way off the plane and looked around for anyone who could be a 'Hagrid'.  
  
Standing at the very back of the crowd of people, although still very much visible - as he was three times the size of a normal man - stood a man with a very bushy, out-of-control beard and a mass of tangled hair growing from the back of his head. All Jessica could see of his face were two small, beady black eyes that were darting nervously around at all the people emerging from the plane.  
  
Jessica saw the man's eyes land on her and crinkle to reveal a very toothy smile. She knew that this man had to be Hagrid. And, as scared as she was that she would be spending the next few days with what clearly looked like a giant, she smiled back.  
  
Slowly she walked towards the man she now knew was Hagrid.  
  
"Jessica, in'it?"  
  
"Um...yeah, my names Jessica. Are you - are you Hagrid?"  
  
Holding out his massive hand for her to shake, he said, "Nice ter meet you Jessica! Er...I don't mean ter be rude, bu' are you really sixteen?" he added, looking at her thoughtfully.  
  
"Nice to meet you too, and yeah, I'm 16, I'm just really small," Jessi replied, smiling.  
  
"All right, shall we get goin' then?" he asked her.  
  
"Oh yeah, okay," she said, beginning to feel more comfortable. He seems all right she thought to herself, as they headed to the baggage claim to get her luggage.  
  
* * *  
  
Some hours later, Jessi sat in a room with polished oak furniture, a very comfortable bed, and a glowing, warm fire.  
  
It was about 11:00 A.M. and Jessi was waiting for Hagrid to come and get her so they could go down to Diagon Alley and buy everything she would need for school.  
  
She heard a knock on her door. She crossed the room and opened it and was greeted by Tom, the Leaky Cauldron innkeeper.  
  
"Hello there! Hagrid is in the bar downstairs waiting for you," he said, smiling brightly. Jessi noticed he didn't have any teeth.  
  
"Oh, okay, thanks," Jessi said. She made her way downstairs, greeted Hagrid in the bar and followed him through the back of the Leaky Cauldron, not entirely sure where he was leading her.  
  
The night before, Jessi had thought of a few questions to ask Hagrid about Hogwarts.  
  
"So, is the castle very big?" she asked him as they made their way to the back of the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"Yep," he answered her casually.  
  
"Really?" she said, not managing to hide the nervousness in her voice.  
  
Hagrid, who had caught the tone of her voice said, "Yeah, it's big all right, but once ya git used ter it, it ain't so bad. You'll find yer way around."  
  
Jessi really hoped so....  
  
She asked the next question that she had been wondering about for a while. "Are the kids my age - are they, uh...nice...and stuff?" She couldn't find a better way to phrase her question.  
  
"Yeah, they're a decent lot, ya know." Catching the look of slight unease in Jessi's eyes, he asked, "You know someone who goes ter Hogwarts, don't ya?"  
  
"Um...well...no, not really...."  
  
"Ah...I see why yer nervous then. I could introduce you ter some kids yer age, if ya want."  
  
"Really?" she said, not bothering to try to hide the excitement and gratitude in her voice.  
  
"Sure, I know some kids you could git along wit'," he replied eagerly, thinking of Ron, Hermoine, and Harry.  
  
"Excellent! So, who are these kids that you're going to introduce me to?" she asked distractedly as she watched Hagrid tap the bricks in the wall and watched a brick archway materialize in front of her.  
  
"Well, ones a girl yer age, name's Hermoine, Hermoine Granger - cleveres' witch there ever wa', tha' one is. 'Nother one's Ron Weasely. Nice boy, really. 'Las one's name's Harry. Harry Potter," Hagrid finished, waiting for an intake of breath or a gasp.  
  
"Harry Potter?" she asked. "Are you serious?"  
  
"Yep!" said Hagrid. "He goes to Hogwarts, didn't ya know?"  
  
"No, I didn't know that.... So, you really know him?"  
  
"Yeah, sure do," said Hagrid proudly.  
  
Chapter 3: Harry Potter  
  
Jessi felt so stupid! Why hadn't her mom told her that Harry Potter went to Hogwarts and was in the same year as she was?  
  
Hagrid of course had told her all about what he had done, in school and outside of school.  
  
Soon her thoughts drifted away from Harry Potter and she found herself going over what had happened earlier that day.  
  
First she and Hagrid had gone to Gringotts to get Jessi some wizard money from her vault, as Muggle money was useless. She was absolutely fascinated with the goblins that worked at Gringotts. She had never seen anything like them in her whole life. After they had gotten a good amount of gold from Jessi's vault, they went to Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions to get her school robes. She wasn't all that thrilled with Hogwart's choice of uniforms, but they weren't that bad. Next she and Hagrid had gone to Flourish and Blotts to buy the books she needed. Then Hagrid finally took her to Ollivander's to get her wand. She ended up with a 9½-inch oak wand with a single unicorn hair. She was already in love with her new wand and she couldn't wait to start doing magic with it. After they had gotten her wand, they bought other various things she needed, like quills, parchment, etc..  
  
With thoughts of the day still in her mind, Jessi slowly drifted off to a calm sleep.  
  
***  
  
Jessi couldn't believe what Hagrid had just told her to do.  
  
"But that's impossible, Hagrid!" she protested.  
  
"No it ain't, jus' run righ' at it, trus' me!"  
  
"Okay, okay, okay, but you better not be messing with my head..."  
  
"I'm no', now go!" he said, chuckling.  
  
Jessi looked back at Hagrid and then back at the solid brick wall ahead of her. This is crazy... she thought. She took a deep breath and decided that she was just going to do it. She looked back around as Hagrid again, who smiled and nodded.  
  
She turned around and stared at the wall of the pillar for a moment before she started running towards it. When she was about two feet away from the brick, she closed her eyes and braced herself for impact. But it never came.  
  
When she opened her eyes and turned around to look behind her, she saw that she was on the other side of the same brick pillar. She then looked straight up and saw a sign that read "Platform 9¾".  
  
Realizing that Hagrid must be coming soon, she pushed her cart out of the way only a second before Hagrid appeared where she was just standing.  
  
"See?" he said, smiling triumphantly.  
  
"Yeah," she replied, smiling weakly - still amazed at what had just happened.  
  
"Well, les' go fin' ya a place ter put yer trunk, righ'?"  
  
"Okay," she replied, following Hagrid to the scarlet steam engine that was the Hogwart's Express.  
  
After they had found an empty compartment and deposited her things in it, they still had time to spare, so they went back to the platform. Jessi waited patiently while Hagrid searched the students looking for Harry, Ron, and Hermoine.  
  
Jessi was watching a little girl say good-bye to her mom as she got on the train when Hagrid nudged her and pointed directly ahead of them and said, "There they are!"  
  
Hagrid, being almost 4 times as tall as Jessi was, could see the trio making their way towards him, but Jessica couldn't.  
  
Jessica excitedly looked in the direction that Hagrid had pointed and, after a few seconds of searching, saw three kids her age smiling, waving, and making their way towards her and Hagrid.  
  
The one on the very end was a girl. That must be Hermoine, thought Jessica. The girl was only about two or three inches taller than Jessi and had very bushy brown hair. Jessi noticed that she had a pin on her robes that had the letter P on it.  
  
The boy in the middle had flaming red hair, and was the tallest out of the three of them. He had a lot of freckles on his face and was carrying a cage, which held an overly excited owl. Is that Ron...? Or is that Harry? Jessica noticed that he too had the badge that the girl was wearing, with a large letter P on it.  
  
Finally, Jessi laid her eyes on the boy at the other end. He had jet-black hair, and it stuck up in every direction, but Jessi didn't think it looked all that bad.... Then Jessi looked at his eyes for the first time. This boy had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. His eyes were the most shocking color of green - Jessi had never seen eyes like his. He was also carrying a cage, but his owl was snow white and very pretty. Jessi noted that this boy didn't have a badge with the letter P on it.  
  
As the three kids came closer, they seemed to not have noticed her, and were instead looking up at Hagrid.  
  
"'Lo you lot!" said Hagrid eagerly.  
  
"Hey Hagrid!" the three of them chorused.  
  
"I've got someone I want ya ter meet. Hermione, Ron, Harry, this is Jessi. She's from America, an' she's in yer year. I thought you guys could help her out some. She don't know anyone who goes ter Hogwarts."  
  
The three of them looked at her for the first time.  
  
The girl on the end said, "Hello, I'm Hermoine Granger, nice to meet you!" and stuck out her hand for Jessi to shake, which she did.  
  
The one in the middle also put out his hand. "Welcome to England Jessi. My names Ron."  
  
And finally, Harry Potter stuck out his hand and shook Jessi's. "Hi Jessi, nice to meet you! I'm Harry." Jessi couldn't stop herself, she was grinning ear to ear.  
  
"Are you really a sixth year?" Ron asked her, looking her up and down.  
  
"Ron!" Hermoine said. She stepped on his foot.  
  
"It's just...she's so small!"  
  
"RON! Can't you say anything nice?"  
  
"I couldn't help it!"  
  
Jessi was laughing. "It's alright, I get that a lot, but yeah, I am in sixth year." Jessi said, smiling sweetly at Ron.  
  
"Sorry..." Ron mumbled.  
  
"It's fine," she said again, smiling.  
  
Hagrid checked his watch. "A'right ya four, trains 'bout ter leave, an' so am I," said Hagrid, "it was nice meetin' ya, Jessi, I'll see ya at school."  
  
"Bye Hagrid!" everyone said simultaneously.  
  
The four of them made their way to the train, and once inside, Jessi led them to the empty carriage she had put her stuff in.  
  
"Excellent," said Ron.  
  
They each sat down. Jessi was sitting next to Hermoine on one side, and Ron and Harry were sitting next to each other on the other side. Harry was directly across from Jessi and Ron was sitting across from Hermoine.  
  
"So," Hermoine said, "you're from America?" she asked Jessi.  
  
"Yeah, I live in California."  
  
"Wicked! I've always wanted to go to the U.S.," joined in Ron, "my dad says its wonderful there."  
  
"Yeah, I love it there."  
  
"So, do you like England so far?" asked Ron.  
  
"Yeah, so far. Its nice here, I wish I had a British accent, though."  
  
"Why?" Ron and Hermoine asked at the same time, both confused.  
  
"Because I don't, so everyone will automatically know I'm not British."  
  
"That doesn't matter." This time it was Harry who had spoken, and when Jessi looked at him, he was watching her closely and smiling.  
  
"I guess not..." Jessi said.  
  
"Of course not, no one cares where you're from," added Hermoine.  
  
"Really? Usually people do..." Jessi replied, her voice fading as she felt eyes on her. She looked across at Harry, who quickly diverted his eyes elsewhere. Had he been looking at her?  
  
Harry, who was nervous now, thought Jessi might have seen him. Oh hell...I think she saw me. The truth was that Harry though Jessi was fascinating...he definitely wanted to get to know her better.  
  
"Well, we don't," Harry managed to say through his tightened throat. Jessi looked at him and he grinned at her. He was happy to see that she was smiling too.  
  
Chapter 4: New Friends  
  
"So, what do you like to do, Jessi?" inquired Hermoine.  
  
"I really like music, like, singing and dancing. Um...I like to shop," she said with a smile, "and...you know, just hang out with friends." Immediately after she said that, she regretted it.  
  
Her sadness must have shown because Hermoine said gently, "Do you miss your friends back home?"  
  
"Yeah...I do..." Jessi said quietly.  
  
"You'll make new friends here," said Harry reassuringly.  
  
"I hope so...."  
  
"Don't be silly, of course you will, what do you think we'll be? Your enemies?" said Hermoine, smiling at Jessi.  
  
Jessi returned the smile, "Thanks."  
  
"My pleasure"  
  
"So, what did you and your friends do for fun in California?" asked Ron.  
  
Jessi began telling them all about the fun times she and her friends had had.  
  
When she was done, they were all laughing.  
  
Hermoine glanced at her watch and said to Ron, "Ron, we've gotta go, our shift's about to start."  
  
"Ah man, okay, well, we'll be back soon guys," Ron said. He leaned and whispered in Harry's ear, "Have fun!" and winked at him.  
  
Ron laughed. "Don't be prat, Ron," said Harry, shoving Ron out of the compartment.  
  
"Where are they going?" Jessi asked as Ron left.  
  
"They're prefects, so they have to keep an eye on the corridors."  
  
"Oh, do things usually happen in the cor-?" she started, but she was interrupted when the compartment suddenly opened.  
  
A boy with white, slicked-back hair stepped into their compartment. "Hello Potter. I-" he stopped talking abruptly when he laid eyes on Jessi. "Ah, you've got yourself a girlfriend. How much are you paying her Potter?" he sneered.  
  
"Shut up Malfoy," Harry snapped.  
  
"Oh believe me, I've seen much prettier than her. Tell me, Potter, is she a Mudblood like your other girlfr-?"  
  
Malfoy didn't get to finish what he was going to say because Harry had pulled out his wand, aimed it at Malfoy, and said "Expelliarmus!"  
  
Jessi watched as a flash of scarlet light shot out of Harry's wand and sent Malfoy flying backwards into the door of the compartment across from them and slid to the floor unconscious.  
  
Harry was on his feet, breathing hard, pure hatred firing in his eyes.  
  
He kicked the door closed and sat back down, still breathing very hard. He looked up at Jessi, and saw that she was watching him closely.  
  
He looked down at his feet for a moment before looking back up at Jessi.  
  
Before he could say anything, Jessi said, "Thanks Harry."  
  
"Ah...damn bitch, that one is," he said angrily.  
  
Chapter 5: The Sorting  
  
Jessi and Harry continued talking until Ron and Hermoine returned. They talked about everything; friends, Hogwarts, Malfoy, school - everything. Jessi noticed though, that Harry didn't seem very keen on the subject of his family. But even so, Jessi thought Harry was very nice and she had a lot of fun talking to him. She felt like she could talk to him about anything and he would understand her.  
  
Harry was also in a good mood by the time Ron and Hermoine came back, having had a very nice conversation with Jessi.  
  
Jessi had just finished telling Harry a joke when Ron walked in, followed by Hermoine.  
  
"What's so funny?" Ron asked, looking from Harry to Jessi, both of whom were laughing so hard that their faces were turning slightly purple.  
  
Jessi, who found her voice first, answered. "Oh, hi Ron. I just told Harry a joke," she said.  
  
Harry was beginning to calm down. "Yeah, that was a good one," he said and chuckled.  
  
"I wanna hear!" exclaimed Ron.  
  
***  
  
By the time the train had stopped and everyone had their school robes on, Jessi had made three new friends. She was in a great mood as the four of them stepped off the train.  
  
After the short carriage ride up to the castle they walked up the steps to the great oak doors.  
  
A stern-looking witch with her hair in a tight bun was waiting just outside the great doors. She was scanning the faces of the students as they made their way into the castle.  
  
All the sudden Jessi heard someone shout "JESSICA OKALER!" She turned to look who had called her name and saw the stern-looking witch staring at her and motioning for Jessi to come to her.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermoine, who had also heard the witch shout Jessi's name, saw who it was that had called their friend's name.  
  
"Oh, that's Professor McGonagall," Hermoine told Jessi. "You should probably go over to her, Jessi. I'll bet she wants to Sort you before the feast starts."  
  
"Okay, well, I'll see you guys later," Jessi replied. "I hope I get into Gryffindor," she added nervously.  
  
"Good luck, Jess," said Harry with a smile.  
  
Jessi smiled back and headed over to Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Jessica Oakler?" she asked as Jessi approached.  
  
"Yes professor," said Jessi.  
  
"Follow me," Professor McGonagall said shortly.  
  
Jessi did as she was told and followed Professor McGonagall into the castle and up a flight of stairs, where there was a large group of scared-looking kids.  
  
She followed Professor McGonagall to the front of the group of, what Jessi presumed to be, first years.  
  
"You will be Sorted right now and you will go back downstairs and sit at your House table, is that clear?" said Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Yes professor," Jessi replied, trying hard to keep her voice even - she was very nervous, now more than ever.  
  
Professor McGonagall motioned for Jessi to sit on the three-legged stool that was placed in front of the first years.  
  
She did as she was told. Before she knew what was happening, she felt something on her head and something's voice filled her mind.  
  
Ah...yes, very smart, very smart. Brave also, yes, yes, you are brave. Hmm...Ravenclaw or Gryffindor...?  
  
Put me in Gryffindor! Please, please!  
  
Okay, if that's what you want. GRYFFINDOR!  
  
When Professor McGonagall took the Sorting hat off of her head, Jessi was beaming.  
  
She was in Gryffindor! She thanked Professor McGonagall and set off down the stairs at a run. She ran into the Great Hall and saw Ron, Hermoine, and Harry stand up.  
  
When Jessi had come running into the Great Hall, Ron, Hermoine, and Harry had all stood up to see her. Harry's heart soared when he saw Jessi beam at the three of them and run towards them.  
  
"I'm in Gryffindor!" she said.  
  
Jessi was too happy for words.  
  
Chapter 6: Hogwarts  
  
Since Jessi was so excited and nervous when she had first entered the castle, she hadn't noticed how magnificent it was. The castle was very big and had many lighted windows and thousands of turrets.  
  
Jessi also hadn't noticed how amazing the Great Hall was. Inside the Great Hall there were four long tables, each of which had golden plates and goblets and were lighted by floating candles. She was amazed. There are floating fucking candles in here she thought to herself after she had looked around the Great Hall for the first time.  
  
After a wonderful meal in the Great Hall, Jessi, Hermoine, Ron, and Harry made their way to the Gryffindor common room. As they went, Ron, Harry, and Hermoine told Jessi about certain trick stairs and places she should avoid.  
  
Jessi watched in utter disbelief as one of the stairwells moved to connect with another part of the castle. Ron casually explained.  
  
"Oh yeah, and you should watch out for the staircases; they like to move like that," said Ron simply.  
  
"And down those stairs," added Harry, pointing to a dark stone staircase to their left, "is where the dungeons and the Slytherin common room are."  
  
"Oh, and if you take this passage all the way down and turn right, you'll be at the library," said Hermoine importantly.  
  
Harry and Ron snorted.  
  
"She should know," Ron said quietly to Jessi, "the woman practically lives there."  
  
Jessi giggled.  
  
Soon they were standing in front of a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress. Ron said the password (Effilcdar) and the portrait swung forward. Behind the portrait was a rather large hole that the four of them clamored through. They walked through a very short passageway and emerged at one end of a circular room lit by a cackling fire. Scattered around it were comfy armchairs and tables.  
  
Since everyone was tired from the journey, the two girls went up to their dormitory while the two boys went up to theirs.  
  
As Jessi lay in bed, she recalled all the events of the day. Running straight through solid brick, meeting Harry, Ron, and Hermoine, seeing Harry knock that Malfoy idiot unconscious, getting Sorted, and eating her first meal in the Great Hall. Wow...I think I'm going to like this place... she thought to herself, smiling in the darkness that surrounded her.  
  
Meanwhile, Harry Potter took off his glasses and placed them on his night table.  
  
"G'night, Harry," he heard Ron say from his four-poster bed.  
  
"G'night," Harry said back.  
  
***  
  
"Jessi, Jessi, wake up, we're late!" Hermoine whispered urgently in Jessi's ear, she was still fast asleep.  
  
"Wha?" said Jessi groggily, looking around to see who was waking her up.  
  
"C'mon!" exclaimed Hermoine, already fully dressed and ready. "We've got to go...now!"  
  
Hurriedly, Jessi threw her robes on.  
  
"Ready," she told Hermoine.  
  
They both sprinted out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the deserted common room, and all the way to the Great Hall.  
  
By the time they had thrown themselves into seats across from Harry and Ron, Hermoine was clutching a stitch in her chest and Jessi was gulping down her pumpkin juice to soothe her dry throat.  
  
"Woah," said Ron, "Where'd you two come from?"  
  
"Gryffindor-Tower-where-else?" answered Hermoine between pants.  
  
"Oh...right. Er- what's your hurry?" said Ron.  
  
"We were la-" Jessi started, but stopped when she saw that Hermoine was laughing. "We weren't really late, were we Hermoine?" asked Jessi, laughing also.  
  
Suddenly Jessi heard, what she thought was, wind gushing through open windows. She looked up at the Great Hall's enchanted ceiling and saw hundreds and hundreds of owls beating their beautiful wings and dropping packages and letters to their owners.  
  
The lovely snow-white owl that Jessi had seen in Harry's cage stood out from the rest and swooped down and landed on the table, right in front of Harry. The exquisite bird stuck out its leg. Harry hastily untied the string binding the scroll to his owl's leg. Then the owl helped itself to some of Jessi's pumpkin juice. Jessi watched the bird and laughed. The she looked over at Harry, who was reading the scroll.  
  
"Ah, it's just a letter from Lupin checking up on me," Harry said casually.  
  
"Uh...." Jessi didn't want to be nosey, but she also wanted to know who Lupin was.  
  
"Oh," Harry said, seeing Jessi's puzzled face, "sorry, um, Lupin - Professor Lupin I should say - is an old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. But he resigned and now he checks up on me every once in a while to see how I'm doing."  
  
"That's good," replied Jessi, glad that Harry had told her who Lupin was.  
  
"Oh yeah, and," Harry added, "this is Hedwig. She's my owl...obviously," he said, laughing.  
  
Jessi smiled. Man, he's funny! I have to write home and tell mom all about him... she noted to herself.  
  
"Oh great," Ron said sarcastically, handing Hermoine, Harry, and Jessi a scroll of parchment, "our schedules are here."  
  
"We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts first, then Care of Magical Creatures, ugh, we've got double Potions, and then we've got Herbology," said Ron bitterly.  
  
"I wonder who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is..." Harry thought out loud.  
  
"Don't know, shall we go early and see then?" suggested Hermoine.  
  
They all nodded and stood up. They picked up their bags and headed out of the Great Hall.  
  
"I really hope this new teacher is nice," Ron said nervously as they got closer the classroom.  
  
"Believe me Ron, compared to Umbridge, anyone will seem nice," said Harry.  
  
"Yeah, I suppose your right. But you know who could give Umbridge a run for her money?" said Ron as they rounded a corner and stood outside the classroom.  
  
"Who?" Jessi asked.  
  
"Snape?!" Ron exclaimed as he opened the door and saw the teacher sitting behind the desk.  
  
"What?" asked Hermoine and Harry, rushing over to look over Ron's shoulder.  
  
A man with black, greasy-looking hair and a long pointed nose, wearing a black cloak that billowed behind him, appeared in the doorway.  
  
"That would be Defense Against the Darks Arts Professor Snape to be exact."  
  
Chapter 7: Professor Snape  
  
"WHAT?!" Hermoine, Ron, and Harry all yelled in unison.  
  
"You heard me," Snape said coldly. "I was bound to get the job one day. Every year fewer people sign up for this position, but I always do. It was only a matter of time before Dumbledore was forced to give me the job," he said with an evil smile.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermoine all exchanged dark looks, before Harry finally spoke.  
  
"So...if your teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, then who's teaching Potions?" he asked.  
  
"You'll find out when you get to class, now won't you?" Snape said. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get ready for my firs--"  
  
"We are your first class..." muttered Ron unhappily.  
  
"5 points from Gryffindor for interrupting me, Mr. Weasley," Snape sneered. "And 10 points will also taken from Gryffindor for disturbing me before class," Snape added.  
  
"That's not fair!" exclaimed Jessi, who hadn't spoken since they had arrived. Jessi also guessed that, standing right behind Ron, Snape hadn't even seen her.  
  
Snape's lip curled and he titled his head to the right to look around Ron. He replaced his usual sneer with an evil smile. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you. Ms.-?"  
  
"Oakler," said Jessi.  
  
"Oakler.... Your mother attended this school, did she not?"  
  
"Yes she did," she replied coolly.  
  
"Quite a poor student she was."  
  
Jessi was boiling with anger. It was true, her mom hadn't gotten the best marks at Hogwarts, but she was smart nonetheless. How dare this man talk about her mother like that?  
  
Jessi balled her fists and clenched her teeth.  
  
A look of satisfaction came across Snape's ugly face.  
  
"Very well, get inside you four," he said, going back to the desk that was his own. "The rest of the Gryffindor's and the Slytherins will be arriving soon."  
  
***  
  
By the time they had emerged from the classroom, Ron was very red, Hermoine was fit to cry, and Jessi and Harry were both breathing hard and trying to control themselves.  
  
Snape had successfully insulted all four of them multiple times, in front of the whole class, which included Draco Malfoy. The fact that he had been there just made everything worse.  
  
Ron called Snape a very bad swear word that made Hermoine take her hands off her face and smack the side of his head.  
  
"Ow Hermoine!" Ron exclaimed, rubbing his head.  
  
"Don't curse, Ron!" said Hermoine.  
  
"Well, its true. Snape is a-"  
  
"Shut UP!" Hermoine yelled at Ron.  
  
"Okay, okay," muttered Ron irritably, massaging the side of his head.  
  
Both Harry and Jessi had clamed down some, but their fists were still balled up with anger.  
  
"I can't believe him! How come he's never gotten into trouble for all those horrible things he says about people and their families?" Jessi asked Ron, Harry, and Hermoine angrily.  
  
"Well...er...no one's really told on him..." said Hermoine.  
  
"Why not?" asked Jessi incredulously.  
  
"Dunno..." said Ron, thinking.  
  
Everyone was quiet, apparently thinking  
  
***  
  
After lunch the foursome made their way down the dark stone staircase toward their Potions class.  
  
All four of them wanted to know who the new Potions teacher was, especially Jessi, as she didn't know how Snape had taught his Potions class before.  
  
When they got to the classroom door, the rest of the class was standing around outside, waiting to go in.  
  
Harry, Hermoine, Jessi, and Ron joined Neville, Dean, and Seamus outside the door.  
  
"Hi guys. Don't you want to know who the new teacher is?" Neville asked them.  
  
"I think we all do," said Dean.  
  
"I didn't see any new teachers at the staff table this morning, or last night," said Hermoine. "But there was an empty chair...."  
  
"Maybe they came late...?" suggested Seamus.  
  
"Maybe..." said Hermoine.  
  
Just then the classroom door opened on its own and let the students in.  
  
There were long tables in the middle of the room with four stools for each one table. There was a wood bar running along 3 sides of the classroom walls. Bar stools were spaced under the counter top. In front of the classroom was the tiniest desk Jessi had ever seen. It was only big enough to seat someone 3 feet tall.  
  
Jessi also noticed that there were tall step stools placed around the room.  
  
"What the...?" said Ron, eyeing the desk.  
  
"Let's sit down," suggested Hermoine, walking towards a table in the middle of the room. She sat at one end, Ron next to her, then Harry. Jessi, being the last of the four to enter the class, took the empty seat next to Harry.  
  
Harry and Jessi's arms and shoulders were touching. Jessi felt as if butterflies were floating around in her stomach. She had never really been this close to Harry before.  
  
Just then the door closed by itself and a tiny creature appeared behind the desk.  
  
"Dobby!" Ron and Harry both said excitedly.  
  
Hermoine was beaming at the miniature creature.  
  
Jessi looked back at it. It had very big, bat-like ears and huge popping green eyes almost as big as tennis balls. Its nose was long and thin and it looked as if it could be easily snapped off.  
  
"What is that thing?" Jessi asked Harry, trying to sound as respectful as possible, as Dobby grinned around at all the students.  
  
"Oh, he's a house-elf. His name's Dobby. He's my friend," he answered.  
  
"Oh.... Is he the new Potions teacher?" she asked.  
  
"I suppose so, yeah," he answered again, smiling.  
  
He must like this Dobby guy she thought.  
  
The house-elf called Dobby finally spoke. "Hello sirs and misses," he said in a high-pitched, squeaky voice, "I is Professor Dobby, your new Potions teacher," he squeaked excitedly.  
  
The Potions lesson went unusually well. It was by far the best Potions class Ron, Harry, and Hermoine had ever experienced.  
  
After their Herbology lesson, the four of them went to the Great Hall to eat dinner.  
  
The food appeared and everyone started to eat and drink. Cheery voices and laughter carried across the Great Hall.  
  
Jessi was in a good mood thanks to her great first day at Hogwarts and after dinner, the foursome went to Gryffindor where they worked on some of their homework and turned in early for the night.  
  
Chapter 8: Boys and Girls  
  
Two and a half very uneventful months later (unless you call two months of being teased by Draco eventful), Jessi, Ron, Harry, and Hermoine were sitting in the Gryffindor common room one night in late November. Jessi was writing in her dairy, Ron and Harry were playing chess, and Hermoine was quietly reading a book...as usual.  
  
Professor McGonagall entered the Gryffindor common room and walked across to the old bulletin board and pinned a notice up.  
  
"Attention students," she said, trying to get everyone's full attention, "as you may have heard, Hogwarts will be hosting a Christmas Holiday Ball. It will take place on December 24th. All third years and above are welcomed to attend. Please wear dress robes and come with an appetite because there will also be a feast at the Ball," she finished. And with a quick glance around at the students, she left.  
  
Jessi had looked up from her writing to listen to Professor McGonagall speak. Not sure whether to be excited or not, as she didn't know what the dances were like at Hogwarts, she looked around the room at her fellow Gryffindors.  
  
Jessi saw a few girls in the room look over at Harry, start to giggle, and start whispering, still shooting quick looks at Harry from across the room. Jessi shot them a dirty look and continued her watch of the common room. As she looked around, she saw a group of scowling first and second years. Finally, she looked back at her three friends.  
  
Harry was looking at the notice, he hadn't seen or heard the girls in the corner. Ron was staring blankly into space, and Hermoine was already behind her book again, reading. Jessi watched Hermoine absentmindedly for a while before she realized that Hermoine hadn't turned a page for over 10 minutes. And it was very unusual for Hermoine to take longer than 10 minutes to read a page in a book.  
  
"Hermoine, will you come with me to the bathroom?" Jessi asked, sensing Hermoine needed to talk.  
  
"Sure," said Hermoine at once.  
  
"Be right back," she told Harry and Ron as they stood up to go.  
  
Ron only nodded.  
  
The two girls made their way across the common room and out the portrait hole.  
  
"What's up, Hermoine?" asked Jessi.  
  
"What do you mean?" said Hermoine.  
  
"Oh come off it, something's up. Ever since McGonagall told us about the ball you've been acting strange. And I know you weren't really reading, so don't say you were," added Jessi as Hermoine opened her mouth.  
  
"Well...its just that...I'm not sure – er - I'm not sure...I'm not sure...who I'm going to go with..." she finished slowly.  
  
Jessi looked at her.  
  
"Oh, alright," sighed Hermoine, seeing Jessi's skeptical face, "that's not it.... Its just...I don't know..." she struggled.  
  
"Whether Ron's going to ask you or not?" Jessi finished for her.  
  
"What? Oh...," Hermoine stopped seeing the look on Jessi's face. She knew...it was no good. Hermoine nodded.  
  
"I knew it!" Jessi exclaimed.  
  
Hermoine smiled. Suddenly she became worried. "Is it that obvious?" she asked.  
  
"Um...kind of, yeah. But don't worry - Ron likes you, too."  
  
"Of course he doesn't," said Hermoine, blushing.  
  
"Oh yes he does Hermoine, it's so obvious!"  
  
Hermoine smiled nervously.  
  
"And I'm sure that he'll ask you to the dance," Jessi told her confidently as they walked into the girls lavatory.  
  
Hermoine smiled again, but this time her smile showed gratefulness and looked appreciative. "But what if he doesn't?" she asked stubbornly.  
  
"Well," Jessi said, stepping into a stall, "if he hasn't asked you and its only a few hours till the ball – and he hasn't got a date - then just ask him."  
  
"Oh honestly - I could never do that!" said Hermoine, shocked at the thought of her asking Ron to the ball.  
  
"Of course you can! I asked out a guy and we went out for two months...it was great," Jessi said. Truthfully, it had been great for the first month, but after that, Matt and Jessi's relationship fell apart. Jessi had held on for another month before she finally decided she'd had enough. The thought of Matt hurt her every time she thought about him....  
  
"But...when it comes to Ron I never know what to say when we're alone...," Hermoine said, pausing as she flushed the toilet. "I'm no good with boys."  
  
"Well...looking forward to the ball?" Harry asked Ron once Jessi and Hermoine had left.  
  
Ron looked at Harry as if he was crazy. "Have you gone mad?"  
  
"I don't think so...," Harry said stupidly, grinning.  
  
"If there's going to be a ball, that means I'm going to have to ask someone to go with me, doesn't it?"  
  
"Well...yeah, unless you were to go alone...," said Harry.  
  
Ron ignored him. "Who am I going to ask?" he thought aloud.  
  
"Hmm...lets think.... Who's that one girl that you've fancied ever since second year?" Harry said, pretending to think hard. "Oh yeah!" he exclaimed, acting as though he just thought of a brilliant answer. "What's her name again? Wait...Her - something, right?"  
  
"Shut up, Harry," Ron said as Harry laughed. "Hermoine would say no if I asked her anyway."  
  
"How do you know?" Harry asked.  
  
"Because she doesn't like me! She fancies Vicky, remember?" he said with disgust.  
  
Harry was getting annoyed at Ron's stupidity. Why couldn't he just admit that Hermoine liked him? Isn't that what Ron wanted?  
  
"Ron, why don't you just ask her already? I know you want to, so just go for it. If she says no, which she won't, then its not a big deal," Harry said.  
  
"I dunno Harry.... I'm no good with girls...," Ron sighed.  
  
Five minutes later Jessi and Hermoine returned. No one said anything about the ball after Jessi and Hermoine had returned.  
  
An hour later, Jessi and Hermoine headed up to their dormitory. Ron and Harry remained in the common room.  
  
Ron suddenly looked up from his Potions homework and said, "Wait a minute. Harry, who are you going to ask to the ball?"  
  
Harry hesitated. Ron of course knew of Harry's growing crush on Jessi, but telling someone that he was going to ask her (which he was planning on doing) seemed to make it definite...and that scared Harry.  
  
"Well...?" said Ron impatiently. "Cho?" he guessed.  
  
Harry shook his head. He and Cho were just friends now.  
  
Suddenly Ron smirked as if he knew Harry's darkest secret. "Jessi?" he asked slyly.  
  
Harry looked at his feet and nodded. When he looked back up at Ron, he was still smirking.  
  
"What are you so happy about?" Harry questioned.  
  
Ron merely shook his head, still smiling, and returned to his homework.  
  
Chapter 9: The Birthday Present  
  
The Christmas Ball was to be held in the Great Hall at 8:00 in the evening. There would be a large Christmas dinner and then dancing.  
  
By December first, Harry and Ron had still not asked Hermoine and Jessi.  
  
Only one boy, Dean Thomas, had asked Hermoine to the ball. Hermoine liked Dean and all, but only as a friend - definitely not anything more.  
  
Ron on the other hand, had been asked by two girls he didn't even know. Ron thought they were both pretty good-looking, but he was already determined to ask Hermoine.  
  
Harry, who, like Ron, was also determined to ask one particular girl, had been asked to the ball by no less than five different girls. Harry didn't know why he was getting so much attention from girls now. He had turned all of them down, but he tried to say no in the nicest way possible. This was hard for Harry, as he'd never really had to say no to so many girls before.  
  
Jessi also seemed to have a good number of admirers. She had been asked to go to the ball by Neville Longbottom, Colin Creevy, a seventh year in Ravenclaw Jessi didn't know, Matthew Singwel - a cute sixth year Hufflepuff, a Gryffindor that didn't even tell her his name, and to Jessi's unpleasant surprise, Goyle Gregory. Jessi had been quite rude to Goyle when she turned him down and she felt slightly bad about it. She justified it by thinking about how mean he was to Ron, Harry, and Hermoine. Jessi had turned down every boy who asked her because the one person she wanted most to ask her hadn't done so - but Jessi hoped with all her heart that he would.  
  
As December drew nearer, Jessi started to get excited. Not only because of the upcoming ball, but also because she would be turning 17 soon - her birthday was on December 3rd.  
  
She had told Harry, Ron, and Hermoine when her birthday was, but she wasn't sure if they would remember.  
  
On the morning of her birthday, Jessi woke up to find four presents by the foot of her bed. Beaming, she scrambled out of bed and opened the first card, which was taped to a nicely wrapped present.  
  
It was from her mom. The card told Jessi how much her mom missed her and loved her. Jessi sighed, suddenly becoming homesick, as she set the card aside and picked up the gift.  
  
Before she opened it, Jessi looked around the dormitory and saw that three out of the four other girls were still in their beds – Jessi could hear their heavy breathing. Jessi looked to the bed on her immediate right (Hermoine's bed) and listened. She couldn't hear anything. Shrugging, she went back to her presents.  
  
She opened the gift from her mom and found two beautiful dress robes for the ball. Her mom had bought her two dresses so that, in case she didn't like one of them, she could wear the other. One of the robes was light blue with a fairly low neck. The other one was in her favorite color – purple. It was a shade of purple that was slightly darker than lavender. On the bottom of the robes and as well as on the hem of the sleeves, there was a delicately embroidered pattern. Jessi smiled. She had already made up her mind – she was going to wear the purple robes to the ball.  
  
Still smiling, Jessi set the robes on her bed and opened her next present, wrapped in the same kind of paper as the last. Jessi found a little card that told her that this present was from her three younger brothers. Her face softened as she placed the little present in her lap. Inside were two handmade picture frames. One held a picture of her youngest brother and the other had a picture of her middle brother. And from her oldest brother, Evan, she received a poster of her favorite American singer, Beyonce Knowles (not moving of course), and a scrapbook her brother had put together of everything he had done since she left. As Jessi stared down at her smiling brother, she realized how much she missed him. Setting the scrapbook carefully down on her bed, she reached for her third gift.  
  
It was a book of poems from her friend Megan. What touched Jessi the most was that every single beautifully written poem was written by Megan herself. Jessi read the first poem, which was about how Megan had felt when Jessi had told her that she would be spending most of the year in London. By the time she'd finished the poem her eyes were slowly filling with tears. Deciding that she would read the rest later, she set it down and picked up her last small gift.  
  
There was only a note saying it was from another one of her good friends, Jodi. Jessi opened her gift and smiled when she saw it was a soft white teddy bear. Jessi held it close to her and hugged it to her chest. She got up and placed it on her bed.  
  
Jessi then gathered the rest of her presents and put them on the bed also.  
  
She decided to go down to the common room, maybe Hermoine was there.  
  
As she reached the bottom of the staircase leading from the girl's dormitory, she saw three people in the common room.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermoine were all sitting at their usual chairs by the now extinguished fire.  
  
They seemed to be waiting for her because when she stepped onto the last step of the stairs, they all yelled "Happy Birthday!" Jessi grinned and walked over to their table. As she approached, she noticed three wrapped parcels sitting on the table.  
  
"You remembered?" she asked them, amazed.  
  
"Of course we remembered! Happy Birthday, Jessi!" Hermoine said.  
  
They all beamed at Jessi.  
  
"Thanks you guys!" she exclaimed, sitting down in an empty armchair between Harry and Ron.  
  
"Welcome," said Ron. "Now open your presents!" he said.  
  
Jessi laughed as Ron handed his gift to her. She opened it and found a very large amount of candy, including her favorite - Chocolate Frogs and Bernie Bott's Every Flavored Beans.  
  
"Awesome! Thanks Ron!" she exclaimed, beaming at him.  
  
Ron smiled back but did not say anything.  
  
"Open mine next!" Hermoine squealed, pushing her gift across the table toward Jessi.  
  
"Okay," said Jessi.  
  
Inside the wrapping was a thick book all about music. Even though it was all based on British music groups, Jessi appreciated it all the same.  
  
"Thanks Hermoine!" she squeaked. She got up and gave Hermoine a hug.  
  
"I thought you'd like it," said Hermoine happily.  
  
Last but not least, Harry handed his present to Jessi. Jessi ripped the wrapping paper off the small box Harry had handed her. Inside was a beautiful gold heart locket. The chain of the necklace was very thin and pure gold. The heart at the end of the necklace was also gold, but when Jessi opened it, it played a soft and beautiful melody.  
  
"Oh wow...this is beautiful Harry," she breathed.  
  
Harry muttered, "Glad you like it."  
  
How much was this? Why would he spend so much money on me...? Jessi looked up from the locket and straight into Harry's piercing green eyes, trying to read his emotion. She smiled and he smiled back. Jessi got up and gave Harry a quick one-armed hug like the one she had given to Hermoine.  
  
"Thank you so much," she said as she sat back down.  
  
Harry turned rather red and said, "It's nothing."  
  
Jessi, now beaming, put the locket around her neck.  
  
"Happy birthday!" they all said again.  
  
"Thanks you guys," Jessi said happily.  
  
***  
  
After dinner, Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and Jessi were all in the library trying to finish their homework.  
  
Harry gave Ron the signal and Ron said, "Hermoine, can you come and help me find a book on Strengthening Solutions?"  
  
"They're over by the librarian's desk, Ron," said Hermoine impatiently, not even looking up from her essay she was divulged in.  
  
"Can you come with me?" he said.  
  
"Oh all right," said Hermoine, getting up.  
  
Ron and Hermoine left, leaving Harry and Jessi alone.  
  
Harry took a deep breath and looked at Jessi, was biting on her quill feather, trying to think of what to write next.  
  
"Jessica, can I ask you something?" he said.  
  
Jessi put her quill down and nodded.  
  
"Er...I was wondering if you wanted to go to the ball with me. I mean, if you don't already have a partner," Harry said hastily.  
  
Jessi grinned and said, "Really?"  
  
Harry, gathering all his boldness and courage, said, "Yeah, I'd really like to go with you."  
  
Jessi's eyes twinkled and she said, "Yes, I'll go with you Harry."  
  
Jessi and Harry looked at each other. Harry turned red and broke their eye contact, looking down at his barely touched essay – the whole time they had been in the library, Harry couldn't concentrate, knowing what he was going to do.  
  
Compared to all the presents Jessi had gotten for her birthday, the one Harry had just given her was by far the best one yet.  
  
Chapter 10: The Ball  
  
By December seventeenth, the only thing that was being discussed was the ball. Girls were constantly giggling – in the corridors, during classed, and during meals. The boys were also getting rather excited, exchanging tips about what to do and what to say when it came to girls.  
  
Finally, Jessi and Hermoine woke up on the morning of December 24th. Parvati and Lavender were already awake – giggling.  
  
Hermoine and Jessi looked at each other and rolled their eyes. They got dressed and went down to breakfast, not bothering to wait for Ron and Harry.  
  
"So, has he asked you yet?" Jessi asked Hermoine, referring to Ron.  
  
Hermoine sighed sadly. "No, not yet..."  
  
"Don't worry about it, he will," Jessi told her.  
  
Hermoine only nodded, lost in her confused thoughts about Ron.  
  
After breakfast the two girls decided to take a walk around the lake before going back to the Gryffindor Tower.  
  
On their walk around the frozen lake they talked about what they were going to wear to the ball and how they were going to do up their hair; normal things for two girls to talk about. Jessi was determined to make Hermoine look beautiful for the ball.  
  
After their walk, they made their way to Gryffindor Tower, admiring the decorations that had been put up throughout the castle in honor of Christmas.  
  
Strings of holly and silver tinsel hung from the walls majestically. Mistletoe had been placed all around the castle...waiting for an unsuspecting student to get caught underneath it....  
  
Jessi and Hermoine reached the common room and started toward the table where Harry and Ron sat. They were immersed in deep conversation but stopped abruptly when they saw Hermoine and Jessi approaching.  
  
Jessi raised her eyebrows suspiciously but decided not to say anything – she needed to talk to Harry.  
  
"Harry, can I talk to you for a second?" Jessi asked.  
  
Harry hesitated. What did she want to talk to him about? Had he done something wrong? Had she found a new partner for the ball?  
  
Legs shaking slightly, Harry stood up and followed Jessi to another part of the room where Ron and Hermoine would not overhear them.  
  
Looking around her to make sure no one was listening, Jessi said, "Harry, has Ron asked Hermoine yet?"  
  
Harry felt his legs go back to normal and took a deep breath – she wanted to talk about Ron and Hermoine. "Er – no, he hasn't. But he's going to, I know he will," Harry said, looking over at Ron and Hermoine.  
  
As Harry watched them, he said quickly, "Hold on...I think he's doing it right now!"  
  
Ron had just asked Hermoine something and he seemed extremely nervous. Jessi watched as Hermoine blushed furiously and beamed. She nodded. Ron had done it!  
  
Jessi and Harry looked at each other again, both grinning. They walked back over to Ron and Hermoine, who were both looking very happy.  
  
"Bout time!" Jessi joked, hitting Ron playfully on the back.  
  
Everyone laughed.  
  
After lunch, Ron, Hermoine, Jessi, and Harry went to visit Hagrid for a while.  
  
At 6:00 Jessi and Hermoine left to get ready for the ball. They arranged to meet Harry and Ron in the common room at 7:45.  
  
It seemed that all of the girls were going to their dormitories.  
  
Hermoine and Jessi made their way up the girls staircase and into their dormitory. They were greeted by a number of faces. Parvati, Lavender, Ginny, and Katie Bell, were all helping each other get ready for the ball. Jessi and Hermoine joined them.  
  
"Oh hey Jessi. Hermoine," said Parvati with a smile.  
  
"Hi.... What are you guys up to?" Jessi asked.  
  
"We were just about to change into our dress robes," Ginny said.  
  
Ginny, Katie, Jessi, Lavender, Hermoine, and Parvati all changed into their dress robes.  
  
Ginny was wearing new robes of white. "Fred and George bought them for me," she explained.  
  
Lavender was in robes of shocking pink, Parvati in turquoise, Katie in red, Hermoine in light blue, and Jessi in purple.  
  
After they finished changing, they all marveled at how wonderful they all looked in their robes.  
  
"Hermoine – you're going to make Ron one happy guy, you will!"  
  
"You look like a grown woman, Ginny!"  
  
"Oh wow Jessi! I love your robes!"  
  
"Bloody hell Katie, you look really different!"  
  
Once everyone had finished complementing everyone else, the girls started on their hair.  
  
Ginny had curled her beautiful red hair and let it fall loosely around her pretty face. Katie had tied an elegant headband around her head, right beneath her hairline. Parvati had French braided her long dark hair on the sides of her head. Lavender had combed gold shimmer into her hair and let it hang down. Hermoine, with the help of Jessi and Katie, had straightened her hair and tied it back into a high ponytail, letting some pieces of hair hang out in the front. Jessi had tied her hair into a messy – but artistic – knot on the back of her head.  
  
Sooner then they'd expected, Hermoine said it was 7:45 and time to go and meet Ron and Harry.  
  
Smiling nervously at each other, Jessi and Hermoine made their nerve- racking way out of the dormitory and down the stairs into the common room.  
  
Harry and Ron were standing at the other end of the room, backs facing Hermoine and Jessi. The two boys turned around as Jessi and Hermoine walked over to them.  
  
When Harry turned around, Jessi was already walking toward him.  
  
She looked beautiful in her purple robes. Harry also noticed with satisfaction that she was wearing the necklace he had given her.  
  
Jessi watched Harry's face carefully as he looked at her. At first it was blank, but to Jessi's immense relief, Harry's face broke into a grin.  
  
Jessi grinned back.  
  
Harry was wearing robes of dark green, which seemed to make him look stronger and more athletic. Jessi realized how noticeable his beautiful eyes were now.  
  
Ron was wearing new robes of a gold color and looked more nervous then Jessi had ever seen him.  
  
When the two girls stopped in front of Ron and Harry, Ron said, "Er – shall we go then?"  
  
Harry thought back to the Yule Ball in his fourth year. Why did he feel different now? At the Yule Ball, neither Ron nor Harry had been this nervous.... So why was Harry's stomach doing flip-flops?  
  
Harry pondered this thought until they reached the Great Hall, which had already had its doors open. Ron, Hermoine, Harry, and Jessi sat at the same small round table once inside.  
  
Harry's nervousness was beginning to ebb away. He forced himself to think of this moment as just any other time with Ron, Jessi, and Hermoine.  
  
Harry watched as the Great Hall filled with more and more students. He watched as Draco Malfoy entered, arm-and-arm with Pansy (again) and smirked.  
  
Draco saw Harry and Jessi sitting together and felt a surge of jealousy run through him. Why did Potter always get the best of everything? He was going to ruin Potter....  
  
Soon the Great Hall was filled with chattering students. After about fine minutes, Professor Dumbledore stood up. Immediately, every student fell silent.  
  
"Welcome to the Christmas Ball!" he said, beaming around at everyone. "As you know, there will be a feast to begin. After everyone finishes his or her meals, you are free to dance and do what you please. If you need a breath of fresh air, you are welcome to step outside..." he finished, rather slyly.  
  
Jessi and Harry glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.  
  
"Let the Ball begin!" Dumbledore shouted happily.  
  
Suddenly, the twenty-five ice sculptures that had been placed around the Hall sprang to life and went to a table where they started distributing menus.  
  
Their waiter, which Jessi guessed was, one of Santa's little helpers, gave all four of them a menu and left.  
  
Ron read through the menu and them said, "What this clam chowder stuff?"  
  
"A creamy soup, sir! Very good!" squeaked the menu.  
  
Ron jumped and dropped his menu, starring at it.  
  
Harry, Hermoine, and Jessi started to laugh at the look on Ron's face, which was a cross between amusement, surprise, and horror.  
  
After Ron, Hermoine, Jessi, and Harry had placed their orders with their waiter, they began to talk about what Dumbledore had said about going outside. Their conversation was interrupted when their meals suddenly appeared on their plates.  
  
"The waiters must have taken our orders down to the house-elves," said Harry thoughtfully.  
  
Harry saw the trace of a scowl sweep across Hermoine's face before it disappeared completely.  
  
About and hour and a half later, everyone was finishing their meals. Once everybody's plates were taken away by the waiters, Dumbledore rose once more. "I hope everyone enjoyed the feast?" he paused as people nodded and murmured their response. "Very well. Now for the dancing! It is my pleasure to inform you all that the Weird Sisters have agreed to play for our ball once again."  
  
As the band set up, almost half of the tables and chairs were cleared away, leaving enough room for a good-sized dance floor.  
  
When the Weird Sisters had finally started to play a slow tune, Harry turned to Jessi.  
  
Harry swallowed, trying hard to get rid of the large lump in his throat. "Care to dance?" he asked her.  
  
Jessi beamed. "Of course."  
  
They walked out onto the dance floor – Harry leading Jessi. The dance floor was starting to fill up with dancing couples.  
  
Harry turned around to face Jessi. They smiled at each other before Harry put his left hand on Jessi's waist and took her right hand in his. Jessi gently placed her left hand on Harry's shoulder.  
  
As the music played, they slowly revolved around. Harry accidentally squeezed Jessi's hand so hard she grimaced. Harry, embarrassed, looked over and saw Hermoine and Ron still sitting, talking. As Harry watched, Ron looked over at him and winked. Then Hermoine, too, looked over and watched Jessi and Harry dancing. She smiled, as if amused.  
  
Harry then looked back at Jessi and smiled. "You look beautiful, Jessi."  
  
Jessi grinned, her cheeks turning red. "Thanks Harry, you look great, too," she said.  
  
They just looked at each other, not able to tear their eyes away from one another.  
  
Finally, the song ended and another slow song started up.  
  
This time, however, Jessi put both arms around Harry's neck and Harry rested both of his hands on Jessi's waist. Even though they were touching more then they had, there was still about a foot of space between their bodies.  
  
As Jessi and Harry made their way around the dance floor, they both saw Ron and Hermoine dancing close by. They both looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.  
  
Jessi and Harry smiled at each other. Maybe this would be the night that Ron and Hermoine confessed their true feelings for each other.  
  
Soon that song ended too. The Weird Sisters then struck up a faster beat.  
  
Jessi moved closer to Harry and took both of his hands in hers and danced across the floor.  
  
Harry, who had taught himself to dance ever since he found out that there was going to be another ball, let go of one of Jessi's hands and spun her around smoothly.  
  
Jessi beamed as she finished spinning around to face Harry again. Where did he learn to dance? she wondered.  
  
They continued to dance until the fast tune faded away and Jessi and Harry, both pink in the face from dancing, went over to get drinks from the refreshment table.  
  
After they had both gotten drinks, they sat down and were immediately joined by Ron and Hermoine.  
  
Hermoine sat down. She too was pink in the face from dancing and looked as if she was having the time of her life.  
  
"I'll go get us some drinks, Moine," said Ron.  
  
Jessi raised her eyebrows at Hermoine.  
  
"Moine?" she said slyly after Ron had left.  
  
Hermoine turned a darker shade of pink and smiled mischievously.  
  
"So, having fun? Moine?" Harry teased.  
  
"Yes, I am actually," she said. "Ron's a great dancer. I don't know where he learned it from," Hermoine said, smiling and watching Ron make his was toward them.  
  
When Ron reached them he handed a drink to Hermoine and sat down next to her.  
  
The four of them sat in silence, watching the other couples dance across the floor.  
  
Ginny was dancing with Matt Singwel, the Hufflepuff Jessi had turned down. He did indeed look very handsome.  
  
Parvati was dancing with a boy with blond hair and blue eyes that Jessi had never seen before.  
  
To Jessi's surprise, Lavender was dancing with another boy who had blond hair and blue eyes. Twins! Jessi chuckled.  
  
Draco Malfoy was dancing with Pansy, but they were far away from each other. Draco looked as if he didn't want to get any closer to Pansy then he already was. Pansy on the other hand kept trying to get closer to Draco, but Draco just wouldn't let her.  
  
After they got bored watching everyone else dance, Harry suggested they go outside.  
  
They all agreed and stoop up. They made their way out of the Great Hall, winding their way slowly through the many students packed inside.  
  
When they finally made it to the Entrance Hall the oak doors were already open. Jessi glimpsed the tops of beautiful green trees.  
  
As they walked down the steps they saw rows and rows of tall, green trees, all in lines behind each other, though there seemed to be about five feet between each tree and the one behind it. There also seemed to be a sort of white light shining through the tops of the trees, yet, looking at the trunks of the trees, it was completely dark.  
  
Hermoine, Ron, Harry, and Jessi stopped when they were in front of the trees, looking for a way inside.  
  
"There's an opening," said Hermoine, pointing to a large gap between two trees on the right side.  
  
Hermoine led the other three over to the gap that she had pointed out.  
  
"Well...shall we go in then?" said Harry.  
  
Harry walked through the gap, followed by Jessi, then Ron, and finally Hermoine.  
  
At first, Jessi was thrown into complete darkness. But as soon as her eyes adjusted to the black, a white light illuminated above her, slowly getting brighter and brighter as it came lower, lighting everything from the top downwards.  
  
Jessi saw that they were in a kind of forest, only there were paths that were more like hallways, the thick mangle of trees acting as walls.  
  
The four friends glanced uneasily at each other.  
  
Even though Jessi was wondering what this was all about, she thought that it was amazingly beautiful in this forest.  
  
"Er...," Ron hesitated, looking at the path ahead of them.  
  
"What do you guys say? It can't be anything dangerous, can it? Dumbledore knows about it...," said Harry.  
  
"Yeah, you're right...it can't be dangerous," said Jessi.  
  
"I don't know you guys...," said Hermoine, remembering the Twizard Tournament's third task in their fourth year.  
  
"Nothings going to happen, Moine," Ron said soothingly.  
  
Jessi was amazed - she had never heard Ron talk to anyone like that.  
  
Hermoine nodded and Harry led the group down the path.  
  
When they turned the corner, Jessi felt like she had just entered Heaven.  
  
They had emerged in a large clearing in the trees, and everything was blazing white. There were red and green flying lights fluttering below the tree's canopies. There were ten different park benches placed around the clearing, but everything was strangely still. There didn't seem to be anyone else there.  
  
Jessi looked closer at the area around the benches and noticed a large glimmering square around every bench.  
  
Curiously, she went over to one of the glittering squares and stuck her finger through the wall-type thing. Nothing happened.  
  
"Jessi, what are you doing?" said Harry, going over to join her. He too stopped in front of the glittering wall, starring at it.  
  
"What's this about?" he asked.  
  
"I dunno...it looks like some sort of wall or something," Jessi replied.  
  
Soon Hermoine was standing on Jessi's other side. Hermoine's brows were furrowed and she wrinkled her nose, as if trying to remember something.  
  
"Wait a minute.... I think I read about these things. Oh what did it say?" Hermoine asked herself, trying hard to remember. "Something about...if two people pass through the walls...it transports you to your own place. No one can hear you...and no one can see you...except the person who passed through with you," she said.  
  
Ron, Harry, and Jessi's eyebrows had disappeared into their hair; they were up so high.  
  
"Uh...okay.... Only two people can go in?" asked Jessi, wondering where Hermoine had read about this.  
  
"Yes...only two people..." Hermoine said, looking at Ron.  
  
To everyone's immense surprise, Hermoine grabbed Ron's hand and led him to the bench next to the one where Harry and Jessi were still standing. Before she was about to step through the glimmer, Hermoine turned around and said, "See you two later!"  
  
Then Hermoine and Ton both stepped though the wall. Jessi saw both of them reach the other side before the disappeared altogether.  
  
"Well...lets go then," said Harry, turning back around to look at Jessi.  
  
"Okay," said Jessi, her voice slightly uneven.  
  
Harry stepped through the glittering wall and held out his hand for Jessi to take.  
  
Jessi took a deep breath, took hold of Harry's hand and she too stepped through the glittering dust.  
  
Chapter 11: The Lonsportive  
  
Once Jessi was on the other side, Harry led her to the park bench, still carefully holding Jessi's hand.  
  
They both sat down on the comfortable bench. Jessi let go of Harry's hand clumsily. Jessi said, "Well, this is interesting."  
  
"Yeah...tell me about it," said Harry.  
  
After a minute of silence, Jessi looked at Harry and found him watching her intently.  
  
"What?" asked Jessi, smiling.  
  
"Nothing," said Harry, but he continued to stare at her until he spoke again. "I just can't believe it."  
  
Jessi was confused. "You can't believe what?"  
  
"My luck.... I can't believe my luck."  
  
"What are you talking about Harry?"  
  
"I just...can't believe my luck of meeting you."  
  
Jessi turned red but didn't say anything.  
  
"You've made me feel normal again, Jessi. You really have. Ever since Sirius died, I haven't been the same. But whenever I'm with you, I'm back to my old self...."  
  
"Harry, I'm sorry he died," Jessi said sadly. "I know how you feel. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve to lose your parents or Sirius...no one deserves that. Especially not you. No one else I know has done so many great things as you have."  
  
"Please don't be sorry," Harry said, holding Jessi's face in his hand.  
  
Jessi looked down, not able to look at Harry's mournful face. She felt so bad for him....  
  
When she finally looked into Harry's bright green eyes, she felt herself melt into them and read Harry's every emotion.  
  
Jessi put one of her hands on the nape of Harry's neck and pulled his face closer to hers.  
  
She closed her eyes and kissed Harry on the lips gently. She slowly pulled away from Harry.  
  
He was smiling and Jessi could tell through the dim light he was blushing.  
  
He put an arm around her waist, pulled her close and kissed her back, just as gently.  
  
He leaned forward for another kiss. Just as he was about to pull away, Jessi slid her tongue out of her mouth and into Harry's.  
  
Harry welcomed it, using his own tongue to explore Jessi's mouth.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Jessi finally pulled away. She realized that one of Harry's hands was now on her upper thigh and Jessi's other hand had been resting on the side of his cheek.  
  
When Jessi opened her eyes and looked at Harry, he grinned sheepishly at her.  
  
After a moment of awkward silence, Harry asked, "What time is it?"  
  
"It's about 10:20," said Jessi. "Do you think we should go try to find Ron and Hermoine?"  
  
"Yeah, good idea," said Harry.  
  
Then they went back up the front steps and into the Great Hall, where couples were still dancing to another fast song.  
  
The pair combed the sea of students, looking for Ron and Hermoine.  
  
Five minutes later they had given up their search and were dancing to a slow, beautiful tune.  
  
Jessi's head was resting on Harry's shoulder, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck and his hands on the very bottom of her back.  
  
They swayed back and forth, Harry sometimes whispering compliments and silly remarks gently in Jessi's ear. Jessi would giggle and look into Harry's eyes. She had always imagined a scene like this, it was one of her fantasies...to be dancing with a wonderful boy, looking into his eyes and laughing softly. Maybe it was too good too be true....  
  
A tap on Harry's shoulder brought him out of his romantic manner as he let go of Jessi weirdly and turned to see who had interrupted their dance. He saw Ron standing next to him, extremely red.  
  
Chapter 12: Pansy's Promise  
  
"Oh, hello Ron. Where's Hermoine?" asked Harry when he noticed Ron's date wasn't with him.  
  
"She's in the bathroom," said Ron.  
  
"Is she okay?" asked Jessi, thinking Ron might have done something wrong.  
  
"Yeah- she said she just needed to use the toilet."  
  
"Okay. Come to think of it, I could use a visit to the restroom myself. I'll be right back," said Jessi. She put her arms around Harry's neck and gave him a quick peck on the cheek and headed toward the girl's bathroom.  
  
When Jessi entered the bathroom, about five other girls were in there.  
  
Three were girls didn't know- but she recognized Hermoine's feet in the fourth stall and right away noticed Draco Malfoy's dog-faced date washing her hands in the sink.  
  
Pansy looked up from washing her hands when Jessi came into the lavatory.  
  
Jessi walked by her, trying to ignore the pitiful look Pansy was giving her. Why is she looking at me like that? she wondered.  
  
Jessi called out Hermoine's name and knocked on the stall, just to make sure it was really her.  
  
Jessi heard Hermoine's voice reply, "Hi Jessi, I'm almost done, I'll be out in a second."  
  
"Okay," said Jessi. She went over to the mirror, making sure she looked alright.  
  
That's when she noticed that Pansy was still there, just staring at her.  
  
"What?" inquired Jessi, a little nastier than she had intended. Even though Jessi had never really spoken to Pansy, she knew that she was a mean girl- Harry and Ron told her all about how Pansy would always make fun of Hermoine.  
  
"No need for your attitude. I know who you are- you're Famous Potter's girlfriend. But I know what you're after," she said knowingly.  
  
Jessi heard a door swish open and said, "What are you talking about? You don't know me."  
  
A second later Hermoine appeared at Jessi's side.  
  
"I may not know you, but I know what girls like you want," sneered Pansy.  
  
"What do you mean 'girls like me'?" Jessi said.  
  
"Oh, that doesn't matter," said Pansy.  
  
"You're right, because nothing you say matters. Let's go Hermoine." Jessi started to move toward the exit, but Pansy blocked their way.  
  
"What do you want?" said Hermoine exhaustedly.  
  
"This isn't about you, Mudblood. So keep your mouth shut," Pansy said coldly.  
  
Hermoine grabbed the back of Jessi's robes as she started to walk toward Pansy.  
  
"Ooooooh. Gonna hit me?" Pansy taunted.  
  
Jessi stared at Pansy, her eyes ablaze in hatred.  
  
Pansy smiled.  
  
"Wipe the smile off your pug face you bitch," said Jessi fiercely. "Leave us the hell alone."  
  
"Fine, I'll let you go. You and your beaver of a friend. But I'm going to tell everyone the truth."  
  
Jessi and Hermoine walked toward the door, Hermoine still holding onto the back of Jessi's robes. Just as Jessi was about to step out of the bathroom, Pansy called "I'm going to make everyone see what you are. Just a gold- digger looking for fame."  
  
Jessi turned around, realizing what Pansy must think.  
  
"If that's the reason you think I like Harry then you need to get your facts straight," Jessi hissed, anger spreading through her whole body once again.  
  
"I think we all know that my 'facts' are straight," whispered Pansy, smirking.  
  
Hermoine turned Jessi around and steered her out of the bathroom.  
  
Once they were out of the bathroom, Jessi said, "I can't believe she would even think that! Where in the hell did she get that from?"  
  
"Malfoy I expect. But she sure does seem pretty sure of herself," commented Hermoine.  
  
Jessi thought about what Pansy said. "What do you think she meant when she said 'I'm going to tell everyone the truth'?  
  
"I don't know...but I know its nothing good," said Hermoine, a worried tone in her voice.  
  
"Whatever- Pansy can kiss my ass for all I care," Jessi said, pushing the thought of Pansy's comments out of her head.  
  
"Hermoine- I have a question. What exactly did you and Ron do in the Lonsportive? Because he was really red- you didn't get into a fight, did you?" asked Jessi, looking at Hermoine.  
  
Hermoine was biting her lip and had turned a bright shade of pink. She was smiling mischievously.  
  
"Hermoine..." said Jessi in a mock warning tone.  
  
"We...we kissed," Hermoine muttered out of the corner of her mouth.  
  
"Are you serious?!" Jessi squealed.  
  
Hermoine nodded, extremely embarrassed.  
  
"Ha!" exclaimed Jessi. "Did you do anything...else?" Jessi added when she looked at Hermoine and noticed a secretive look on her face.  
  
Hermoine only smiled wider and muttered something inaudible.  
  
"What was the Hermoine?" said Jessi, also grinning.  
  
"He-" Hermoine started.  
  
Jessi stopped, staring at Hermoine.  
  
"He.... He what?!"  
  
"He asked me to be his girlfriend," she blurted out.  
  
Jessi beamed and hugged Hermoine.  
  
"YES!" she exclaimed loudly. "Give me details!"  
  
Hermoine was now redder than Jessi had ever seen her.  
  
"I want details Hermoine!" she shouted again, laughing.  
  
"Shut up Jess!" Hermoine said, looking around at the deserted Entrance Hall as if people were there.  
  
Jessi laughed and followed Hermoine back into the Great Hall to where Ron and Harry were standing.  
  
When Jessi caught Ron's eye, she gave him the thumbs-up and winked. Ron grinned and blushed.  
  
Suddenly Dumbledore's voice boomed above the music and chattering.  
  
"Attention students- this will be the last song of the night. I suggest that you make the best of it," he said, his clear blue eyes twinkling.  
  
Jessi and Harry looked at each other and both went onto the dance floor.  
  
"So- what took you so long in the lavatory?" said Harry as he danced with Jessi snug in his arms.  
  
"Oh, well, we ran into Pansy in the bathroom."  
  
"What?" said Harry, releasing Jessi and looking into her eyes- worried. "What did sh-"  
  
"No Harry. I am not going to let something Pansy said ruin this night," Jessi said firmly.  
  
"But-" Harry started.  
  
"Shhh..." Jessi whispered, pressing her index finger gently on Harry's soft lips.  
  
She pulled him close once more and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
They swayed back-and-forth for what seemed only five seconds. Harry wished he could stay in this place forever.... Holding Jessi in his arms, feeling her hot breath on his neck....  
  
"Jessi?" Harry whispered.  
  
"Mmm?" said Jessi, she was enjoying herself far too much to even form a word.  
  
"Would you- I mean- do you want to be my girlfriend?" he asked nervously.  
  
Jessi lifted her head from Harry's comfortable shoulder and looked him in the eye- trying to tell whether he was being serious or if he was joking.  
  
Jessi was relieved to find that he looked very serious and sincere. She smiled.  
  
"Of course I would!"  
  
Harry's nervous face broke into a relieved grin. He kissed Jessi's forehead and went back to dancing.  
  
Soon the song ended, as much as Jessi didn't want it to.  
  
Jessi sighed heavily, her head still on Harry's shoulder.  
  
Harry took Jessi's face in both of his hands and looked into her sparkling brown eyes.  
  
"This has been one of the best nights of my life. Thank you for this."  
  
Harry pulled Jessi's face toward his and kissed her long on the lips, still in the middle of the Great Hall.  
  
When Harry finally pulled away, Jessi was in shock. They were still in the center of the dance floor, the teacher and students all staring at them.  
  
It took Jessi a second to realize that Harry had pulled away. By then, she was blushing hard.  
  
"Harry!" she exclaimed.  
  
"What?" asked harry, also smiling.  
  
Jessi smiled and shook her head.  
  
"Come on, let's go find Ron and Hermoine so we can go," said Harry.  
  
Jessi nodded again.  
  
After glancing around the rapidly emptying hall, Jessi noticed people sniggering and staring at her and Harry was they walked passed.  
  
Jessi put on a sarcastic smile and waved to whomever she saw watching them.  
  
"Maybe they're in the Entrance Hall," suggested Jessi when most everyone had stopped looking at them.  
  
Harry and Jessi walked out of the Great Hall and saw Ron and Hermoine talking off to the side of the streaming queue of students going past.  
  
"There you two are!" said Jessi, walking up to them.  
  
"Hey guys," Ron sniggered.  
  
"Shut up Ron," Harry said, punching Ron in the arm playfully.  
  
"Ow!" Ron exclaimed, pretending to be hurt.  
  
Everyone laughed.  
  
By then the steady flow of students piling out of the Great Hall had been reduced to a small trickle of students emerging from it.  
  
"Let's go back to the common room, I'm wiped," commented Ron.  
  
As the four were walking up the stairs toward Gryffindor Tower, Harry said, "Jessi, are you going to tell me what Pansy said now?"  
  
Jessi saw Ron and Hermoine glance at each other.  
  
Jessi hesitated. "It's nothing Harry. I'll tell you about it tomorrow, I promise." She didn't want to ruin this night by telling him what Pansy said. She didn't want to worry him, not tonight. It was, after all, Christmas Eve.  
  
Harry nodded but looked slightly concerned.  
  
"Don't worry about it," said Jessi reassuringly.  
  
Harry smiled and took hold on Jessi's hand and laced his fingers with hers.  
  
Jessi looked down at their interlocked hands and grinned. This night can't get much better she thought to herself.  
  
When they got to the common room students were saying good night and going up the staircases to their dormitories.  
  
The four friends were all exhausted and said good night.  
  
Harry ran his warm hand down Jessi's smooth cheek.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Harry said, kissing the tip of Jessi's nose and smiling.  
  
Jessi replied by kissing Harry on the lips softly. Then she grabbed Hermoine's wrist to pull her up the staircase.  
  
"G'night Ron!" Hermoine called down the staircase.  
  
Hermoine resisted Jessi until she heard Ron's voice say good night, when she smiled and allowed Jessi to drag her up to their dormitory.  
  
Once they had opened the door and found it empty, they both plopped down on their backs on Hermoine's comfortable bed and sighed.  
  
"Jeez- my feet are killing me!" Hermoine moaned, taking off her shoes and rubbing her feet. "And my heads starting to hurt- you made this ponytail too tight!" Hermoine joked, taking out the ponytail holder out of her hair. "Ahh..." she said, shaking her head so her hair fell back down to her shoulders. "That's better."  
  
"What a wonderful night, huh?" said Jessi dreamily, reflecting back on that night.  
  
"Yeah...wonderful," said Hermoine, laying back down and staring at the ceiling, a smile on her lips.  
  
"Can you believe it? We're both taken- we both have boyfriends!" Jessi whispered excitedly.  
  
"Yeah...." Hermoine said again.  
  
Hermoine rolled over onto her side to look at Jessi. "Jessi, why do you like Harry?" she asked.  
  
Jessi looked at Hermoine as she asked her question, then her eyes flicked back to the ceiling once again.  
  
"Well, because he's funny, nice, sweet, and loving, loyal, and cautious. And...he's honest, trustworthy...he's adorable, and he's a great dancer," she finished with a smile.  
  
Jessi looked back at Hermoine, who was watching her intently.  
  
After a second of studying Jessi, Hermoine knew she was being sincere and smiled.  
  
"Why do you ask?" Jessi said.  
  
'Well, Pansy's words were getting to me. I just had to make sure they weren't true."  
  
"You don't believe her, do you? You don't think she's right, do you?" asked Jessi, slightly panicked.  
  
"No, no, of course not," said Hermoine reassuringly.  
  
Jessi looked back at the ceiling once again and sighed.  
  
"I wonder what she's planning to do..." Jessi thought aloud.  
  
"I don't know...not anything good though," said Hermoine seriously.  
  
Meanwhile, Harry and Ron lay on their beds, curtains open, dress robes still on, and talking.  
  
"Tell me!" Ron demanded to Harry.  
  
"I don't kiss and tell, Ron," Harry said slyly, smiling.  
  
"So you kissed!" Ron exclaimed. He didn't bother to keep quiet, they were the only ones in their dormitory.  
  
Harry just continued to smile, thinking about him kissing Jessi on the park bench in the Lonsportive.  
  
Ron was watching Harry, the smile he once wore had faded. Should he tell him?  
  
"Hermoine told me what Pansy said," Ron said.  
  
Harry looked at Ron. "And...?"  
  
I shouldn't have said anything...Jessi needs to tell him, not me... Ron thought.  
  
"Never-mind," he said hastily. "G' night, Harry," he said, rolling over on his side and starting to close the curtains.  
  
"Ron!" Harry shouted, annoyed. He sat up.  
  
"G' night Harry," Ron said firmly. He shut the curtains around his bed completely shut.  
  
"Ugh," Harry said, lying back down.  
  
After a second he realized that he was still in his dress robes and quietly put on his pajamas. I guess Ron's going to sleep with his on, then Harry thought.  
  
Harry climbed into his bed and shut his own curtains.  
  
After taking off his glasses and laying his head down on his feathery pillow, his mind was still racing. What exactly had Pansy said? Was it that bad that no one wanted to tell him? Would it cause a problem?  
  
All these questions floated around his head as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.  
  
Chapter 13: The Fight  
  
"Hi Harry." It was Christmas morning and Jessi was approaching Harry in the common room.  
  
"Hey!" Harry said. He couldn't help grinning sheepishly when Jessi stood on tiptoes and gave Harry a soft, sweet kiss on the cheek.  
  
They held hands all the way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.  
  
When Ron and Hermoine entered, walking in front of Harry and Jessi, both couples holding hands, the rest of the students watched them. Some smiled, waved, and giggled, while others narrowed their eyes and shook their heads.  
  
Harry, who had expected this, ignored them and walked over to the Gryffindor table.  
  
Soon after, Professor Dumbledore spoke and told them all to eat and enjoy their Christmas breakfast.  
  
Ron, Hermoine, and Harry had all signed up to stay at Hogwarts, but Jessi had to go back to California. Jessi wanted to see everyone back in California and she missed them all terribly, but she also didn't want to leave Hogwarts. She wanted to stay with Harry, Ron, and Hermoine.  
  
So Jessi had asked her mom if she could leave a week early, so she could spend some time with her friends at Hogwarts over the holiday break. Jessi's mother had agreed to Jessi's request.  
  
The four friends ate breakfast and then were making their way to their first lesson when Jessi started to catch bits of other students' conversations.  
  
"She said she only likes him because he's famous..."  
  
"I heard she's planning to steal his fortune and run off with it..."  
  
"Poor Harry..."  
  
She was stunned. Pansy hadn't lied; she told the whole school that Jessi only liked Harry because he was famous.  
  
Harry must have heard bits of the conversations, because Harry fell back, so that Hermoine and Ron were walking ahead of them.  
  
Ron and Hermoine were deep in conversation so they didn't even notice that two of their best friends were no longer walking alongside them.  
  
"Jessi, what did Pansy say last night?" harry asked firmly.  
  
Jessi sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you." She paused. How should she tell him? "Well, here, I'll tell you what happened from the beginning." So Jessi told Harry everything Pansy had said.  
  
"So then she said 'I think we all know that my 'facts' are straight'."  
  
Jessi looked at Harry; she'd been avoiding his eyes this whole time. Harry won't believe it, he won't. He knows I love him thought Jessi.  
  
Harry's forehead was creased in thought.  
  
"So Pansy thinks...they you like me...because..." he trailed off.  
  
"Because...you're famous and you have a lot of money. She thinks I'm using you," breathed Jessi.  
  
Harry looked deep into Jessi's bright brown eyes.  
  
"I never thought of that before..." he said, looking away.  
  
Jessi was shocked. She stopped in the corridor, eyes filling with tears. "Harry. Please tell me you don't believe her. Please!" she cried.  
  
Harry stopped and hung his head. "I don't know."  
  
By this time, Ron and Hermoine had noticed that they were walking by themselves and were walking back down the corridor toward them.  
  
Ron, spotting Jessi's tearful eyes and Harry's distressed expression, said, "What's up?"  
  
Jessi looked at Harry, hoping against all hope that he would run over to her and hold her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her and how much he knew Pansy was wrong.  
  
"Harry...?" Jessi whispered desperately.  
  
Harry's beautiful green eyes locked on Jessi's brown ones. He shook his head sadly.  
  
Jessi stood there, frozen to the spot. Then, tears spilling down her face, she whirled around and ran away, sobbing, her hair flying behind her.  
  
Immediately, Hermoine ran off after her and turned the corner at the end of the corridor. And disappeared.  
  
Ron was standing next to Harry, stunned.  
  
"What the hell happened Harry?!"  
  
"She only likes me because I'm famous," replied Harry. It hurt so much he could hardly speak.  
  
"What?! That's not true! You know its not, Harry. I can't believe you just did that to her. If you really loved Jessi, then you would know that she doesn't only love you because you're famous."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"You're not the only one who Jessi talks too, you know," sand Ron fiercely.  
  
Harry looked down the corridor.  
  
"We'd better go..." Harry sighed.  
  
Ron looked at Harry, shook his head, and started walking again.  
  
Harry knew deep down that Ron was right. He felt horrible. Harry needed time to think....  
  
Jessi was lying in her bed once again, sobbing into her pillow.  
  
Hermoine then ran into the dormitory, panting.  
  
Hermoine caught sight of Jessi crying on her bed and her expression softened as she sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
Jessi looked up and saw Hermoine.  
  
"Why does he believe her? I thought he loved me..." she whispered.  
  
Hermoine looked at Jessi carefully before she spoke.  
  
"Well, do you want to know what I think?" she asked softly.  
  
Jessi stopped to look at her and gave her a tiny nod.  
  
"Well, I think that Harry really really likes you. In fact, I know he does, he talks about you nonstop!" Hermoine paused, smiling, trying to cheer Jessi up a bit. But Jessi, however, just sighed heavily. "Anyway, I know he really likes you, everyone knows that. I just think that he's afraid that something will go wrong. He's never been in this serious of a relationship, especially with a girl he really likes. And I think that he doesn't want anything to hurt him, so he'll believe whatever people say, as much as he knows its not true. He doesn't want to get hurt. Ever since Sirius died last year, he's been making sure he doesn't get hurt. He doesn't want to relive that pain again. Does that make sense?"  
  
Jessi nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.  
  
"But...do you think he'll ever tell me how he feels? What if he just goes on believing Pansy?"  
  
Hermoine shook her head "He won't. He's not that thick."  
  
Jessi sighed again. "Thanks Hermoine."  
  
"What are friends for?"  
  
Jessi sat up and gave Hermoine a hug.  
  
"I think I'm going to pack for tomorrow. I can't face Harry. I don't know what to say.... You can go back to class if you want," said Jessi.  
  
"No, I think I'll stay up here with you."  
  
By lunchtime Jessi was still packing, but Hermoine went down to the Great Hall to eat.  
  
She sat next to Ron at the Gryffindor table.  
  
"How's Jessi?" Ron asked.  
  
Hermoine looked at Harry, who was waiting for Hermoine to answer. Was Jessi as distraught as he was?  
  
Hermoine shook her head and looked at Ron again. "Not much better than when you saw her last," she told them truthfully. "She's up in the dormitory packing."  
  
"She's leaving?" Harry asked quickly.  
  
"Um...yes, she's packing for tomorrow. She's going home for two weeks, remember?"  
  
"Right..." Harry said.  
  
Ron and Hermoine were both watching Harry closely.  
  
Harry focused on his food.  
  
"So, is she coming to Care of Magical Creatures with us?" Ron asked.  
  
"No, I don't think so," Hermoine replied.  
  
Once Harry was looking at his food again, Hermoine muttered, "She says she can't face Harry," out of the corner of her mouth so that only Ron could hear.  
  
***  
  
Jessi was sitting in the common room that night while everyone was still at dinner.  
  
She was trying to finish an essay from her Defense Against the Dark Arts class from the day before, but between sudden fits of tears and the sorrowful thoughts that encircled her head, she didn't get much done.  
  
Suddenly the portrait hole opened and three of her best friends came in.  
  
As soon as she saw Hermoine enter in front of Ron and Harry, Jessi slammed her book closed, put the cap on her bottle of ink, rolled up her peace of parchment, and grabbed her quill.  
  
Right before she got up to retreat back to her dormitory, she saw Harry enter, looking somber. He looked at Jessi, and for a moment Jessi thought she saw his green eyes light up. But then he put his head down and Jessi ran up the stairs three at a time.  
  
Hermoine sighed and looked at Ron, who shook his head and looked behind him at Harry, who was now sitting in an armchair, gazing at the fire.  
  
"Why doesn't either of them say anything? They're both so miserable..." Ron said sadly.  
  
The next morning Ron, Hermoine, and Harry were all finishing their breakfast when Jessi entered, wearing Muggle clothes that she looked very good in. She left her trunk at the doors leading into the Great Hall and was walking up to the Gryffindor table. She had a slip of parchment in her hand.  
  
"Hay guys," she said, not looking at Harry. "I'm leaving in a minute."  
  
"Do you have to go?" whined Hermoine.  
  
"Yeah, sorry," she said. "But I'm still going to come back early. So I'll see you soon." "What's that for?" Ron asked, nodding toward the slip of parchment in Jessi's hand.  
  
'Oh, this is my address in California. I thought you might need it if you wanted to write me. Your owls might not know their way around America...maybe this will make it easier for them to find me."  
  
"Good idea," said Hermoine, taking the slip of paper from Jessi.  
  
A whistle blew from the Entrance Hall, where the rest of the students who were departing were assembled.  
  
"Okay, I'd better go," Jessi said.  
  
Hermoine stood up and gave Jessi a hug. Ron gave Jessi a hug as well.  
  
After Jessi had pulled away from Ron, she looked longingly at Harry.  
  
Harry looked at Jessi standing there, looking as beautiful as ever. He slowly stood up and walked the short distance over to her. She looked frightened.  
  
Harry stood in front of Jessi and looked at her. Then he pulled her into a strong embrace and whispered "We need to talk," in her ear. Harry pulled away and Jessi nodded.  
  
The two loud, sharp whistle blasts filled the air.  
  
And with one last wave, Jessi ran out of the Great Hall and disappeared.  
  
***  
  
It was dinnertime by the time Jessi got back to Hogwarts, 13 days later.  
  
Jessi checked her watch and saw that dinner in the Great hall would be ending any minute so she decided to wait for her friends in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
Jessi couldn't wait to tell her friends all about her trip back home. She had written her friends a few times, but all the letters were very short and quite meaningless.  
  
She grinned at the thought of seeing her three best friends again. But yet her smile faded slightly as she thought of Harry. What's going to happen to us? she wondered.  
  
Over the two weeks she had been away, Jessi had thought a lot about Harry. She found herself longing for him, his touch, his voice, his kiss.... But yet she knew that there were still problems they needed to work out.  
  
Jessi glanced anxiously at her watch again. Dinner ended five minutes ago...where were they?  
  
At that moment the portrait hole opened and Ginny Weasley came into the common room.  
  
Ginny saw Jessi and walked over to her. "Hey! You're back!" she said, giving Jessi a hug.  
  
"Yeah," said Jessi. "Is dinner over?"  
  
"Yeah, just ended. The others should be up soon."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"You're welcome. I'll see you later," Ginny said, climbing the stairs to her dormitory.  
  
Jessi stared at the portrait hole, waiting for it to open again.  
  
And it did. Ron, Hermoine (hand-in-hand), and Harry entered the common room. All three of them beamed at her as they walked toward her.  
  
Jessi grinned at all of them before she hugged Ron and Hermoine. She stopped in front of Harry and looked away. Jessi didn't know what to do. She looked back at harry, who was staring blankly at her. This is too awkward. I need to talk to him thought Jessi. But not now, I'll talk to him tomorrow she promised herself. She needed a little more time to think, and, by the looks of it, so did Harry.  
  
"Er...welcome back Jessi, Did you have fun?" Ron said, trying to make less of the weird situation at hand.  
  
Jessi smiled again. "I had loads of fun! I bought you all something from California, and I took a ton of pictures, they're not moving, though," Jessi said.  
  
"Presents? Excellent!" Ron said excitedly.  
  
Jessi noticed that Harry was being unusually quiet. He hadn't said a word since he came into the common room.  
  
"I think I'll make you guys wait for those presents until tomorrow. But you can se my pictures if you like. I'll go up and get them. Hermoine, would you mind coming with me?" Jessi asked.  
  
"Sure," said Hermoine.  
  
Once in their dormitory, Jessi went over to her luggage to look for the pictures. As she was going through her things. She asked, "So, how have you three been these past two weeks?"  
  
"Well, Ron and I have been pretty good. We've just been relaxing, and visiting Hagrid a lot as well. But Harry's been very quiet and not very much fun. He's always staring off into space. He's been acting like a completely different person, you know?"  
  
Jessi nodded. She had found the pictures at the bottom of her bag.  
  
"So...are you going to talk to him?" Hermoine asked tentatively.  
  
Jessi stood up. "I'm going to try. Tomorrow."  
  
Hermoine nodded and they went back to the common room.  
  
Jessi showed them pictures of everything. Her family, her house, her dog, her friends, and even her bedroom. Besides all that, Jessi had taken pictures of everything she had done. These things included: parties, going to amusement parks, going to friends' houses, family get-togethers, bowling, picnics, everything.  
  
Ron, Hermoine, and even Harry seemed to be enjoying learning about California and America, so Jessi was pleased with herself.  
  
By the time everyone was through looking at the pictures, it was getting late and they said good night.  
  
As Harry lay in his bed, he made a decision. He'd finally reached a conclusion about this whole issue with Jessi and Pansy. But he'd have to wait until tomorrow to tell her.  
  
Chapter 14: The End  
  
Jessi woke up at dawn the next day. She was nervous about the day and still didn't know what she was going to say to Harry.  
  
She tried to go back to sleep but failed.  
  
She figured she would just go down to the common room and wait for the others to wake up. She couldn't sleep anyway.  
  
Jessi kept her head down as she descended sleepily down the stairs. She was still in her light blue nightdress. She stepped onto the common room floor and shivered. She didn't have slippers, her pajamas only had a thin ribbon for sleeves, and it was mid-thigh length.  
  
She was just about to go back upstairs to get a robe when she spotted someone sitting in an armchair at the far end of the common room.  
  
Jessi could see the back of the person's head. She knew immediately who it was. It was time.  
  
Forgetting completely about her robe, she walked slowly toward the black- hared, green-eyed boy that was waiting for her.  
  
Before Jessi had reached him however, Harry Potter turned around.  
  
He stared at her, taking in her sudden appearance in a sexy nightgown.  
  
Jessi walked around his chair and sat down in one across from him. "We need to talk," she said quietly.  
  
"Yeah...we do."  
  
Jessi didn't know what to say next. Where should she start?  
  
"Its just...I thought you wouldn't care about what Pansy said. I thought you'd know it wasn't true..." Jessi trailed.  
  
Harry sighed and then said, "I did know she was lying, I knew it wasn't true...I just...didn't want to get hurt. I wasn't totally secure with myself, I thought you were just too good to be true, so I forced my head to believe that you only liked me because I was famous. But I knew in my heart that Pansy was wrong. I just thought that you- that we- were too good to be true. Everything was so perfect...it didn't seem possible."  
  
"But...does that mean you don't like me?" asked Jessi.  
  
Harry's face softened as he looked into Jessi's scared face.  
  
"Yes...I like you..." Harry paused. "Jessi?"  
  
Jessi looked up at him and creased her eyebrows as if to say 'What?'.  
  
"I...I think that I'm in love with you."  
  
Jessi searched Harry's extraordinary green eyes for the loving, caring look that she had always longed to see.  
  
Jessi found that gleam of love after only a few seconds.  
  
"I love you too," she whispered softly.  
  
~*THE END*~ermoine. 


End file.
